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Music tweak may boost PTSD therapy
NCT ID NCT06925867
First seen Jun 25, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This study tests whether listening to 15 minutes of frequency-filtered classical music before each cognitive processing therapy session can improve PTSD symptom relief. 100 adults with PTSD or subthreshold PTSD will be randomly assigned to hear either filtered or unfiltered music. Researchers will track symptoms, stress physiology, and daily mood over two weeks of therapy and up to six months afterward.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- frequency-filtered classical music (Safe and Sound Protocol)
- What this could lead to
- If it works, this could offer a simple, drug-free way to boost the effectiveness of talk therapy for PTSD.
- What could go wrong
- This is an early-stage study with only 100 participants. The music may not provide any extra benefit over standard therapy, and results may not apply to everyone with PTSD.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 100 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Jan 2025
- Expected to finish
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Feb 2028
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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18 years and older
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * At least 18 years of age * Meets diagnostic criteria for a) PTSD or b) subthreshold PTSD with hyperarousal (i.e., meets diagnostic threshold for 3 of 4 symptoms, one of which is hyperarousal) * Ability to move between sitting to standing without assistance * Ability to attend two weeks of daily in-person therapy sessions at either the Ohio State University or at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB) Medical Center Exclusion Criteria: * Heart condition (such as cardiac arrhythmia) or pacemaker * An allergy that would prevent wearing adhesive for durations of 2 hours or less * Insufficient English fluency to fully engage in psychotherapy * Use of hearing aids * Current or prior tinnitus (persistent ringing or other noises in ears not caused by an external sound) * Severe traumatic brain injury * An ongoing stressor or condition deemed by the investigators to place the participant at risk for injury or a poor outcome (e.g., undergoing disability evaluation, undergoing a medical board evaluation to be medically discharged from the military, pending negative administrative or legal actions). * Inability to complete the informed consent process due to the acute effects of a medical or psychiatric condition (e.g., intoxication, mania, psychosis)
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
2 sites. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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The Ohio State University
RECRUITINGColumbus, Ohio, 43210, United States
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Wright Patterson Air Force Base Mental Health Center
RECRUITINGDayton, Ohio, 45433, United States
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